


Five Ways Reality Beats Fairytales by Queen Nancy

by Niki



Series: Enchanted Yuletide [1]
Category: Enchanted (2007)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-12-14
Updated: 2008-12-14
Packaged: 2018-01-25 04:35:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1631831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Niki/pseuds/Niki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>And they lived happily ever after.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five Ways Reality Beats Fairytales by Queen Nancy

**Author's Note:**

> Million thanks to my wonderful beta Jane Elliot, and to my friend Nata for allowing me to borrow bits of her real-life fairytale romance for the story.
> 
> Written for Lady Sarai

 

 

**1\. Love at First Sight vs Loving Someone for Who They Are**

Love at first sight is cool. It's not quite what happened to me and Edward, but close. It wasn't the first time I saw him, but it was the first time I _saw_ him if you can appreciate the difference - he was a man at that moment (well, more of a Prince Charming, really) and not just the fiancé of that weird chick that had burst into my boyfriend's life. I saw him and he saw me, probably in a way Robert never did. Scratch that, _definitely_ in a way Robert never did.

And yet, even more precious than that moment is the one where I realised I was truly in love with _him_. It was a regular day, months after, when I looked up from my book and smiled, because his hair was floppy and he didn't care, he was reading a book on the sofa with his feet on the table... and his horse was sleeping in the corner of the room. And I knew he hadn't been much for reading before all this happened, and I knew why he was reading _that_ particular book, and I knew what his horse meant for him, and... and I _knew_ him, and I loved _him_ , for all those little habits and quirks and when he looked up at me and smiled, it was a smile that was meant for me, for the woman I am, instead of just a charming smile. 

Love at first sight is fine for fairytales. I'll take reality and being _in love_ over it any day. Any damn day.

 **2\. There Are Other Bits That Touch in Addition to Your Lips**

Fairytales end with the wedding and a kiss. Luckily, real life - even in Andalasia - doesn't. Because I wouldn't have missed my wedding night - and the thousands of nights after that - for anything. 

I was the first woman Edward ever kissed... well, unless you count the time he kissed Giselle while she was unconscious. At least I was the first woman who ever kissed him. 

I learnt that his stepmother had kept him away from girls in hopes that he'd never marry. This meant he was great at chasing orcs but beyond innocent with girls. The things he let out of his mouth! 

During our wedding supper he leaned close to me just as I was sipping my drink and promised to kiss me wet in just a few hours. I nearly choked! The look I gave him made him frown and explain, as if to a child:

"I'll place big sloppy kisses all over your face."

"Oh. Right. Right. Wet with saliva. Got you."

"What's so funny?"

"I'll teach you in just a few hours." 

**3\. The Rules of Fairytales Don't Always Apply**

This place really is a Fairytale Land. No taxes, no cab drivers, no social services, no poverty or needy people (or so they say). And no mobile phones. Honestly, the first time Edward told me to sing to get in touch with someone, I was sure he was kidding. He didn't have much of a sense of humour back then, though. Thankfully, that has changed. He has even learned to laugh at himself. But I digress.

(It's not that I can't sing, I can and my voice isn't bad. But I felt so silly doing it I never thought it could start feeling natural.) 

This means I've had to get used to a lot of changes but nowadays it's nothing for me to sing to the birds and squirrels every morning so that they can help me sew a dress, then start my daily duties with my loyal badger guard by my side, and dine with a horse. 

But I am still from the Real World. I look at all these fairytale things through those eyes. And it's good that I do, because when the famine years came I could make sure the woodcutter's family got extra rations to keep feeding little Hansel and Gretel, and that the poor old witch in the forest got her care package and didn't need to keep luring in children to feed herself. And every family with a stepmother is under special observation by the newly formed social services. 

So the rules of fairytales don't always apply. After all, if they did we would never have gotten together. Giselle was Edward's One True Love, meant to finish his duet and all that. In Fairytales that doesn't just go away. Well, a little bit of New York made that go away, but gave us our own magic.

I don't know, maybe Robert is singing with Giselle now (though I find that hard to imagine; then again, love does weird things to you). 

**4\. My Prince Charming Is a Real Person**

I loved _Cinderella_ when I was little, and her prince was my ideal man. When I grew up I came to the conclusion that he was just a little boring. Well, a lot boring. 

I'm so glad that my Prince Charming is a real man, warts and all. ("No dear, you do not have warts, it's just a saying. What it means is... you're not perfect. No, not even you. You're just perfect for me.") Although, I am coming to realise he wasn't always so. People have remarked on how he has changed during his absence. Apparently he was the epitome of the perfect prince, if a little self-centered. He's turned softer, more human. The laughing at yourself thing, for example. Being a little more considerate of other people's feelings. Maybe a dash of New York did him good. 

I take him being crouchy in the morning so that I can get him goofing around with his best friend (yes, the horse) in a very un-Royal fashion. I take our explosive fights so that I can have the deep conversations that follow. 

These days I prefer (and have) a real man with whom I can have a real relationship.

**5\. I Can Also Be a Real Person**

I am a Fairytale Queen in a Fairytale Kingdom but I am still me. I am still Nancy. I can still wear pants and go out on my own (well, if I can shake the badger guard) and do things on my own and think for myself and have friends of my own. I am not a meek little princess whose only role is to make her prince happy. I demand my equal share. 

I don't have to be perfect. I can have bad days when I am cranky and so-not-in-a-singing-mood. These people still respect me as their Queen. And Edward still loves me. What's more, that is why he loves me. For being me. Warts and all.

And we're living happily ever after. 

 


End file.
